It is relatively easy to walk around this department and find the many ways we have been “transformed.” We have extraordinary computer-enhanced technology that gives our undergraduate and graduate students the critical tools needed once they graduate. We are transforming our curriculum with inquiry-based courses and faculty-student research opportunities that give our students not only an understanding of important biological issues, but also how to think about these issues.

However, in my opinion, the most dramatically transforming feature at Lehigh and in this department is the admission of undergraduate women forty years ago. The changes in Lehigh’s culture and the intellectual climate because of the addition of women undergraduates continue to benefit everyone at Lehigh. Of course we need to celebrate!

And this department’s celebratory event was to bring back six women who graduated with degrees in biology. As you will see on the subsequent pages, these women graduated at different times over the past 40 years and each one is certainly successful. We asked them to form a panel and offer a large group of Lehigh undergraduates their wisdom. I, as the moderator, worried that I needed to come prepared with a host of questions to make sure they had something to talk about. Well, I asked one question. Total! For the next ninety minutes these alums gave serious, well-intentioned, important, and amusing advice on how to receive the best education at Lehigh and how it can relate to their careers.

It will be fascinating to see the impact of our undergraduates on society over the course of the next 40 years. These are exciting times in the department of biological sciences! We hope you share our excitement.